Chapter 14 - Waterfall

I feel Egan waking up and looking for me. 'Wait for me Egan I'll meet you in front of the house where we slept'

I put away everything that can be useful to me and take a seal and a gourd with me before going out to join Egan. He is waiting for me as planned in front of the house and I join him quickly before stopping and backing up.

"Egan! You smell shit! Please tell me that you went to empty yourself in the forest and not near the hearths. »

He seems deeply offended by my remark and my backlash. I don't pick up anything else that could serve me as an answer. I try to get more involved in the link but still can't understand his answer I doubt he is actually trying to provide me with one. Until a memory pulls me back from reality.

"Egan no! I don't want to see that kind of thing, or experience it, or feel it."

He is even more offended and sends me back the memory or I ask him if he didn't do it near the houses.

"I didn't want you to show me the answer, keep those things to yourself." Seriously, you smell worse than death! I wanted us to go hunting first but we're gonna go to the waterfall and we're gonna wash you up. Please keep a minimum distance between us during the journey"

He is now completely outraged and he is sulking conspicuously. Honestly, I don't know his reaction because I'd rather see him sulk than have him near me right now. We set off after I left to pick up a few things with me from the house.

All along the trip I am completely focused on the environment to avoid having another bad encounter even if I am not using my sense of smell at the moment...

Egan transmits his bad mood to me all the way but once arrived at the waterfall, I wonder if it is safe to enter the water...

I thought of a solution, approached the water and tried to see through it, looking for any sign of danger, but with the eddy generated by the waterfall, I couldn't see anything.

I literally feel Egan approaching and as he joins me in the water, I block his way with my arm and continue to scan the water.

Egan grows increasingly irritated and sends back the memory of me asking him to wash up and then wiping away a cringe, a disgusted expression on my face.

"We came twice and I didn't see any animals drinking from this water. I don't know if it's a coincidence but it's the only water point we've been able to find so far. We shouldn't be the only ones wanting to drink here. »

Egan is also looking at the water and his frustration is still rising, he sends me back his memory, his head underwater when he took sustenance yesterday. He didn't see that he could hurt us.

"Please Egan, watch around us, I'll try to see if it's safe for us to wash here." »

On my knees, hands at the water's edge, I dip my head under the water like Egan did to see something. The water is frozen! More swirl of water makes it difficult to see but the little I see does not look suspicious.

I then decide to undress to go completely under water to see better. Once underwater I can see fish and other strange life forms but all small in size. Nothing big enough to be a threat, I continue my observation for a few minutes but finding nothing too bad, I give the green light to Egan.

He joins me and I seem to have fun swimming on and under water, for my part, I shiver from the cold and remain vigilant. I hurry to clean myself up. During my search, I was able to find soap and I brought some in my bucket. It's a bit powdery and crumbles as soon as you touch it, but it's still better than nothing.

Once finished, I call Egan to clean it in turn. I take him where he has his feet so that only his paws stay submerged and start rubbing him. He loves it the guy! He quickly lands on his back with his 4 legs in the air and raises his head so as not to drink the cup. His purrs make vibrations visible around his silhouette in the water.

Unlike him who is having a good time, I hurt myself several times rubbing his body, he has small spines that are already very sharp. Moreover I made the mistake of not rubbing it in the direction of its scales, it's like pressing on the bark of a tree with the flat of the hand to press and go up. Bad and painful idea.

Once I figured out how to clean it without pressing on the wrong areas and in the direction of the scales I had a great time myself, it's still warm even in that freezing water which helps me not no longer shiver with cold. Also, I don't know if it's because he's so young, but those scales aren't at all what I imagined.

So far I haven't really taken the time to pet Egan anywhere other than the top of his head. Its scales are extremely soft and warm to the touch, especially under the belly.

By inspecting its scales, I realized that they are already very solid. I wouldn't be surprised if the old weapons I found would shatter instead of breaking through one of its scales.

We spent a moment to relax even if I remained attentive to any dangers. All good things come to an end I force myself to get up, drink then I filled the water bottle and the bucket of water that I brought back with me.

"Come on Egan, let's find something to eat, I wish I didn't eat a corpse this time." »